Stocks open lower despite rise in retail sales

The stock market opened lower on Monday, pulling back from record highs last week.

The market started the day lower even after the government reported that Americans increased spending at retailers last month. The spending rebounded from March, suggesting that consumers may boost economic growth in the current quarter ending June 30.

The two key indexes ended last week at all-time highs, boosted by record profits at companies.

The earnings of companies in the S&P 500 index are projected to rise 5 percent for the first quarter, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. While growth has slowed from the previous quarter, it is forecast to end the year at 11.6 percent.

Among stocks making big moves:

— Yum Brands fell $1.64, or 2.4 percent, to $68.67 after the owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken, reported that sales in China fell 29 percent last month, driven by concerns about Avian flu.

— Theravance, a biopharmaceutical company, surged $4.57, or 13.1 percent, to $39.52. Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. plans to pay $1 billion for the right to future royalties from respiratory treatments being developed by Theravance and GlaxoSmithKline.

In commodities trading, oil fell $1.11, or 1.1 percent, to $94.98 a barrel. Gold dropped $6.40, or 0.5 percent, to $1,430 an ounce. The U.S. dollar fell to 101.70 Japanese yen.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.92 percent from 1.90 percent. The yield has jumped this month as investors sold Treasurys' and moved into riskier assets.